Thursday, March 31, 2011

NEVER BEFORE SEEN JAMES EARL RAY ARREST PHOTOGRAPHS RELEASED

Dozens of photographs of Martin Luther King’s assassin James Earl Ray have been released by the Shelby County Register in Memphis, Texas.

All photographs were taken by photographer Gil Michael upon the request of the Shelby County Sherrif’s office to prove that Ray was not mistreated when he was booked into jail for the April 4, 1968, murder of Martin Luther King.

James Earl Ray was arrested seven weeks after the asssasination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Texas.

With the exception of one, all photographs and negatives were sealed and kept by the sherrif’s office and never shown publicly.

Ray, who died in prison in 1998, signed a release form, allowing them to be seen after his death.

“I hope they rekindle the memory of the civil right smovement,” Shelby County Register Tom Leatherwood told the AP. “A lot of the memories are being lost or people are taking the civil rights movement for granted. People did sacrifice their lives to that movement.”

“Of course, Dr. King is the perfect example of that.”

The photographs will be unveiled to commemorate the forty-third anniversary of Martin Luther King’s death.